The Crow That Flew
by DeltaSilver88
Summary: Nozomi Kanemaru has a peculiar ability to get under Kei Tsukishima's skin. ...What happens once she officially joins the team as a manager?


Karasuno's gymnasium had been noisy just a few moments earlier. Now things had quieted down as their practice for that day was drawing to a close - the third years were loitering around the door of the gym while the second and first years finished up their after-practice activities. The trio were casually chatting about this and that, and eventually began to discuss what they would do once they graduated.

"Um... Sawamura-san? I'm sorry to interrupt, but..." a tentative question from the side had all three heads turning to face the girl by the benches.

"Hn? What is it, Kanemaru?" Daichi looked puzzled. This girl didn't often directly address the older members of the team - she looked strangely fidgety for some reason... was it something about Tsukishima, or...

"I overheard you talking about graduation and I just got curious..." she shifted her feet and ran her hand through her hair. "Are you going to continue volleyball in college?"

"Uh... yes, I think so." now he was even more confused. Why was she asking them that?

"How about... after that? Will you go pro?" this time, she actually looked up from her feet and straight into his eyes. She seemed very determined about something and he was getting curious about her sudden interest in their plans.

"I... huh. You know, I haven't thought that far yet." Daichi put his hand to his chin, pondering over the question. "...I guess I really like volleyball and would like to be a professional, but at first I think I should study for a career. That way I'd have something to fall back on if the volleyball thing fell through."

Sugawara nodded at his words. "Me too. I like playing, but it wouldn't be very smart to neglect other options."

"Besides, it's not like we can continue this into our old age. We'd have to retire at some point." Asahi added and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"...Is there something on your mind? For you to come out and ask us about something like this..." Sugawara cocked his head and looked at the girl quizzically. She looked over the gymnasium quickly and after she spotted the other first years, she turned back to the third years and then pointed over her shoulder at the four boys.

"You do know that Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun are going to neglect those other options, right? Those two can't think about anything else than volleyball." then she paused for a moment. "I can't see Tsucchan and Yamaguchi-kun continuing volleyball very long, though."

"...You have a point there." Daichi looked over at the first years.

"I... really like watching you guys play. Everybody just looks so into it, and I think even Tsucchan has learned to take the matches more seriously. I felt like I really wanted to try seeing things from your side of things - I mean, I've unofficially been helping you guys around the gym and it's really fun, so..." she drew a deep breath. "I'd like to officially apply to become a manager for the team."

The reactions of the third years were to be expected - Daichi blinked at her, Sugawara's jaw dropped slightly and Asahi dropped his water bottle on his foot. They were aware that she had been thinking about something really hard for the past few days, but that declaration took them by surprise. She had been content just hanging around the gym because of Tsukishima, but now it appeared she had come to a new conclusion about her presence there.

"Daichi-...san?" Nozomi's quizzical question snapped them back to their senses, and a smile spread over the captain's face.

"Well, I don't see any problem with that. We'll just have to take care of a bit of paperwork and let some people know you're joining." then he clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to the team, then. I know Yachi would appreciate the help."

"...Thank you so much!" Nozomi bowed her head at him and then squeaked as he turned her around and pushed her forward.

"Attention, everybody! I have an announcement to make."

Several heads turned their way and after a brief look at a grinning Daichi, laid their attention on the girl in front of him. Tanaka bent forward with his hands on his hips. "What's this about, Daichi-san?"

"We have a new member on the team - Nozomi just applied to become one of our managers." Daichi had to try very hard to suppress a laugh at the look on Tsukishima's face. He appeared surprised, annoyed and defeated all at the same time. Everybody knew Nozomi had a spectacular ability to get under his skin and keep him under her thumb. Now it had gotten official and she would be spending even more time at the gym. ...Daichi was honestly rather amused at the idea of Tsukishima being bossed around every day.

"...Daichi, you're horrible." Sugawara's hushed voice was slightly reproachful, but he also secretly found the situation funny. He was just far better at hiding it than the captain was.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"You KNOW what I'm talking about."

The captain cleared his throat uneasily and then watched as the second and first years gathered around Nozomi to congratulate her and welcome her into the team. It was Hinata who asked the first question, and as usual, he was completely oblivious to how it sounded. "Are you sure you're not doing this just because of Tsukishima?"

"Hinata?!" Sugawara sounded alarmed.

"Hey, I just asked a question! I mean, she began hanging around here because she likes him and she probably wants to spend even more time around him and you know, do all that all the time?"

Nozomi threw her hands out in front of her and waved them frantically. "No, that's not why I joined! ...I mean, I do like Tsucchan but I think of you guys as my friends. I've watched you guys play and saw how serious you were just during practice, and I honestly kind of felt like an outsider. ...Well, I WAS an outsider... I've been thinking about this a lot recently and really wanted to try this life for myself. I don't know much about volleyball, but I've had Kiyoko-san teach me things and I thought I could be useful for once. Joining the team as a manager enables me to help you directly on the court and I just hate seeing you get hurt diving for balls and doing your all just for that one point. I can't play on the court with you, but even so... I want to support you fully as a member of this team!"

As these words reached Tsukishima, the ever-present deadpan look on his face changed. This annoying girl and her sincere speech had made him realize something about his brother - it was something he had never thought about before, and things were slowly starting to make sense. Yamaguchi turned to look at his friend just then and his jaw dropped, all color draining from his face. "TSUKKI?!"

The other members of the team blinked at the outcry and as they saw what had made Yamaguchi yell like that, looks of surprise and shock began to slowly take over.

"Tsukishima... is crying?!"  
"THAT Tsukishima?"  
"What happened to him?!"

A sharp jibe died in Tsukishima's throat and he made an indelicate sound, turned on his heels and pushed through the crowd to walk out of the gymnasium doors. Once outside in the cool night air, he took off to a run and didn't look back even as Yamaguchi, Sugawara and the captain called out his name. He ran all the way to his home and as soon as he noticed his brother sitting outside in the garden, he jumped over the fence and ran to his side. Akiteru raised his face as he saw his little brother by his side, and became quite alarmed at his fatigue and heavy breathing. "Kei? What have you been doing, why are you so tired?"

He had no chance to ask anything further as Tsukishima flung his arms around his brother and suddenly wheezed out only one phrase:

"You're... seriously really amazing!"

"...Huh?!"

Tsukishima stepped back from him and returned to the other side of the fence; once he was back on the street, he turned around and bowed deeply. "Thank you for everything up until now!" Then he began to run down the street and disappeared behind the corner. Akiteru rubbed the back of his head and looked utterly lost.

"...What the hell just happened?"

 _ **Several days later...**_

Around two weeks since the incident at the gymnasium, the Karasuno volleyball club gathered outside an unfamiliar school. They had been called over to another prefecture to have a practice match against a decently powerful team, and their usual method of using Kageyama and Hinata's combination to throw the opponent off-balance wasn't going to work this time - Hinata had called in sick, and he was with the team only as mental support. They had decided to use Asahi, Daichi and Tanaka as spikers, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi as middle blockers and Kageyama as the setter. Sugawara had insisted on them using Kageyama instead of him - the rest of the team needed to get used to Kageyama's tosses, he'd said. ...As soon as the match was underway, things started to go slightly downhill for them. It was difficult to get used to this set-up and they missed their timing sometimes, which cost them points and eventually led them into losing the first set 25-21. They revised their tactics before the second set and this time around it was easier - they won, though barely with a score of 25-23. The third set would decide who ultimately 'kicked ass' as Tanaka put it, and despite the disadvantages of a largely unfamiliar formation they were determined to win it. Tsukishima was mumbling to himself about not having as much faith in them as the others, as he always did. Yamaguchi sighed at his friend's reaction and took his place at the back of the formation. As the set started, the opponents fumbled and let Karasuno score the first point - it gave them a bit of an advantage and they continued with this lead far into the game... then, finally, it was match point. This match point depended entirely on whether their attack succeeded or not. Kageyama, the pressure piled on him suddenly taking its toll, set the ball far behind him at an incredible speed.

"CRAP!" he had completely forgotten Hinata wasn't playing in that match and had instinctively set the ball for their quick strike. There was nobody on this team other than Hinata who could spike that! ...Then, suddenly, he caught a glimpse of somebody at the edges of his vision just as a female voice cried out "...FLY!"... and then Tsukishima was there, his hand connecting to the ball and slamming it down between the opponents, right in the back middle of the court. As the tall boy landed on his feet, he glanced at his hand in bewilderment.

"...That really does sting."

Kageyama blinked a few times and then took a step toward the taller player. Before Tsukishima could react to the sudden movement, the grumpy setter raised his hand in the air as a lop-sided grin spread over his face. There was a moment of stunned silence and then Tsukishima scoffed at him, returning his high-five. The loud sound rang across the unfamiliar gymnasium, signifying the fact this belligerent pair had finally moved in perfect sync and scored a point through a bond of trust. The referee's whistle and a call of "Set and match, Karasuno!" finally snapped the two and their team back to reality. ...They'd won. With Tsukishima and Kageyama's surprising quick strike, they'd taken match point and won! Tanaka, Nishinoya and even the benched sick Hinata whooped loudly and raced to their side, the rest of the team following suit. Yamaguchi nudged Tsukishima in the side and grinned widely. "That was amazing, Tsukki! You actually hit that impossible toss!"

"...Yeah, I guess." the blond boy replied and rubbed his still stinging hand. "So, what's the final score?"

The team turned to him. TSUKISHIMA had asked for the score? "...25-22."

"...Wow."

 _ **Back home again...**_

They had scarcely talked with Tsukishima on the bus ride home - he appeared to be slightly dazed sitting next to Yamaguchi, as if he was half asleep. The match had taken a toll on all of them, but they were pretty certain this was something different. It... may have been mental exhaustion? Who knew. As they were safely back at Karasuno, Daichi called a meeting at the gymnasium before they would all head home. He expressed surprise at Tsukishima managing to hit one of Kageyama's quick tosses, and wondered if they had seen the creation of another amazing combination.

Tsukishima rubbed the back of his head. "I dunno. That might have been a fluke - there's no way I could actually hit something like the king's toss."

"Hey, Tsukishima... you jerk!" Tanaka raised his fist in the air, only for Daichi to grab his shoulder.

"I don't even remember it that clearly. All I know is that I suddenly started moving forward and then that toss was there... and I just instinctively hit it."

Hinata was seething with excitement. "That was really, really cool! You were like, whoosh and then, bam! It looked awesome! It was kind of like you were flying or something!"

"...Hinata... that's exactly what you look like when you hit one of those tosses..." Sugawara said with one of his strange, ruffled smiles.

The short boy pouted. "Hey, I can't see what I look like! But that was so cool!"

"...That's just absurd. Why would I fly?" Tsukishima looked exasperated.

A quiet snicker from Daichi's direction had them turning to look at their captain. "Oh, I don't know... maybe because one certain girl yelled "Fly!" at you? Don't tell me you didn't hear that."

"U-uh... now that you say it, I vaguely remember..." Tsukishima looked over their heads at Nozomi on the other side of the gymnasium. As soon as she noticed he was looking at her, she blushed furiously and resumed her duties, fumbling through them as best as she could. Without staying to listen to the rest of the team, Tsukishima walked past Daichi and found himself standing in front of the girl who had annoyed him ever since she had told him she liked him.

"...Will you go out with me?" the words escaped his mouth before he could think, and the redheaded girl's head shot up to look him straight in the face. Then she squeaked in a tiny voice and threw herself at him, wrapped her arms around him and started to laugh and cry at the same time. A fierce blush spread over Tsukishima's face as he stood there, completely at a loss on what to do. He coughed awkwardly and attempted to get Nozomi to ease her grip on him, though it was proving harder than he'd thought. ...She was surprisingly strong. "...Agh, oh god. Why did I do that."

On the other side of the gym, the rest of the team were looking intently at the duo. The first years were somewhat shocked at what was going on, while the second years were grinning widely and Nishinoya even whistled. The third years were taking it more calmly, having dealt with this before after all three of them had gotten girlfriends of their own.

"...This is the first time Tsukishima's actually asked her out, isn't it?" Sugawara asked with a slight grin. "Usually it's been Kanemaru who does the asking. Or rather, asking and then taking him along anyway."

Daichi brought his hand to his mouth and chuckled, then crossed his arms and smiled lopsidedly. "It appears Tsukishima's finally accepted the fact he's got a girlfriend~"

"Oh, that's adorable!" Asahi piped up from behind them. "They're such a cute couple~"

"...THAT SOUNDS SO WRONG COMING FROM YOU!"

"Eeeeeeehh?!"


End file.
